FCC officially ends EchoStar merger review

The Federal Communications Commission formally concluded its review of
the rejected EchoStar Communications Corp./DirecTV Inc. merger Friday by removing an administrative
law hearing on the merger from the docket.

On Dec. 10, EchoStar effectively terminated the review when it withdrew its
merger request.

In October, both the FCC and the Department of Justice rejected the merger, and a
revised agreement failed to sway either agency.

If EchoStar had insisted on pursuing the merger in the face of FCC
opposition, the first step would be to seek endorsement of an ALJ.